The festival, which held contests in the folk and pop music categories, saw
Vietnamese and Malaysian singers edge ahead of others, winning two golds each. Viet Nam won three silvers and Malaysia followed with two.
Popular folk singer Hong Ngat’s performance of a northern traditional folk song, Co be thuong ngan (A Mountainous Girl) won over both judges and the audience.
Reynaldo Raymond Pagi of Malaysia struck the right mood with a joyful traditional folk song – Temasya desa gemelai.
With a professional performance style and impressive voice, another Malaysian singer, Nur Nadia Fadilla Abu Bakar, won the pop music contest and was a runner up in the folk music category. Her pop entry was I’m Telling You I’m not Going, and the folk song was titled Joget kennagan manis.
Ngoc Anh’s powerful soprano voice worked superbly for Saving All My Love for You, and netted top honours in the pop music category.
Two other Vietnamese singers also made their mark at the festival with second spots in both categories.
Doi cho
Pop singer Minh Quan was another runner-up in pop music with the song I Believe I Can Fly.
The third spots in both sections were shared by singers from Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia.
Thai pop singer, Pimnara Varahajirakul, displayed a professional, confident and lovely performance style that belied her 14 years.
The festival was organised by the National Radio Voice of Viet Nam, the HCM City’s Television (HTV) and the Cat Tien Sa Company. — VNS
(Waiting) by Thuan Yen that is based on folk music and I Need to Know, by Vietnamese pop singer Dam Vinh Hung were received enthusiastically by the audience.
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